Belgrade, 18 November 2024 – Creative Gate (creative-gate.org), a regional digital platform for cultural and creative industry actors in the Western Balkans, was officially unveiled at the Western Balkans Creative Day event. With the launch of this platform, developed in cooperation with EXIT Foundation and the Macedonian Taksirat Festival, a digital space has been created that will connect creative organizations, artists, cultural centres across the region, creating opportunities for business cooperation and exchange of ideas, with the vision of positioning the Balkans as one of the global centres of creativity and creative businesses. We invite all interested parties to get involved and register on the platform at: www.creative-gate.org
Through the “Creative Gate” platform, which is part of the project “Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans” (CC4WBs), funded by the European Union and implemented by UNESCO, the British Council, and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), creative people have the opportunity to connect with investors and partners. The platform also allows them to improve their public presence, business and contribute to strengthening the socio-economic impact of the creative industries, building a sustainable and inclusive creative environment in the region.
At the opening of the Western Balkans Creative Day, the audience were addressed by Clare Sears, British Council, Director Western Balkans, Renata Radeka, Regional Project Coordinator from UNESCO, and Ivan Petrovic, EXIT Foundation, President of the Board, who presented the vision of “Creative Gate” as a space that connects cultural and creative industries and strengthens regional synergy.
“Our region has enormous potential in the creative industries, and we believe that it can become one of the global centres of creativity and creative businesses because it has a key “ingredient” for that -the super creative people from the region. Creative industries are key to the transformation of the Balkans and the greatest development opportunity for economic growth, cultural participation, branding and preservation of cultural heritage, development of cultural tourism, as well as in the context of employing local talents and prevention of the brain drain,” said Ivan Petrovic, President of the Board of Directors of EXIT Foundation.
Clare Sears, Director of the British Council for the Western Balkans, said that this initiative, funded by the European Union, aims to boost creativity in the region, providing an opportunity for creative individuals to connect, exchange ideas and learn from each other. “The idea of bringing people together and allowing them to meet, to learn new skills is very important for the whole region,” Sears said.
“The Creative Gate digital platform helps in finding adequate partners for cooperation in the creation of new works of art, co-production, or other forms of partnerships, especially when different types of available funding are available for joint applications from more than one organization. In practice, it has been proven that a collaborative approach brings better results. The digital platform is designed to enable cooperation in the Western Balkans and Europe and to serve for announcements, event planning, and searching for partners to apply for funding. Creative and cultural industries are becoming an increasingly crucial factor for economic development,” said Renata Radeka , Regional Project Coordinator for ‘Culture and Creativity for the Western Balkans’ at UNESCO.
Western Balkans Creative Day brought together leaders and professionals from the world of creative industries, who discussed the potential of the Western Balkans through inspiring discussions. They talked about the future of creative industries through the cooperation of associations from all areas of creative industries, as well as the ways in which the authentic identity of the region can be branded and placed on global markets.
Between the panels, regional projects were presented within the session “Creative Minds of the Balkans”, which showcased unique talents and innovations from the region. These projects not only reflect the cultural heritage of the Balkans, but also illustrate how the integration of tradition and contemporary creative approaches can contribute to the development of new cultural and business values.
The final part of this creative day was marked by events at two other locations in Belgrade: the premiere of the film “EXIT Dance Arena – Electronic music temple” at “Balkan” cinema, which showed the impact of EXIT Dance Arena on the global electronic music scene, and then the participants enjoyed the NoSleep Festival in the Hangar Luke Beograd. Western Balkans Creative Day was an opportunity for networking, exchange of ideas and creative work, creating space for further stimulation of the development of cultural and creative industries in the Western Balkans.
